Atrial Fibrillation and Dementia: What Do We Know?

Hi. I'm Jagmeet Singh from Medscape Cardiology. It's a pleasure and a privilege to be here. I'm especially delighted today, as I'm joined by Dr Jared Bunch, who's a professor of medicine at University of Utah Health Science Center and also the director of electrophysiology there.
It's an absolute delight because today, we're going to be talking about a topic that is, I would say, very topical but also fairly concerning. The topic is atrial fibrillation and dementia, or atrial fibrillation and cognitive dysfunction. Jared, as an electric physiologist or a cardiologist, we are fairly casual about treating atrial fibrillation. We're quite comfortable treating it the way we treat it, but we often don't talk about the potential downstream effects, like cognitive dysfunction, that accompany many patients with atrial fibrillation.
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[@mavisbirrell6746]

I believe that Metoprolol may be a factor. Since I have been using this, I have noticed a marked decline in my memory. If I inadvertently miss a daily tablet I feel more alert, and I can think more clearly. Yes, I have discussed this with my doctor but I am assured that Metoprolol is necessary to treat my Afib.

[@dannymeske3821]

my wife has A-fib and had a heart valve replacement early 60's. She is now 75 and has had cognitive decline ever since. she now has Alzheimer's and needs full time care now.

[@medicinefuture]

please, may you can explain why aggressive rate control, less than 70/m causes a decline in cognition?and also what is the optimum heart rate in chronic AF patients?